Home insurance policies offer different levels of cover for your garage structure and its contents, depending on whether your garage is attached or detached to your home.

In this Article

What is garage insurance?

Garage insurance protects the structure of your garage and its contents and is included as part of standard home insurance policies - rather than a standalone garage insurance policy.

The level of buildings and contents cover offered for your garage will depend on whether your garage is:

Part of the home: in this case the garage will be attached to your house

An outbuilding: the garage is detached from your home but is still inside the boundaries of your property. It will be treated the same as any garden walls and sheds you have

If you own a garage that’s located outside the boundary of your property, it won’t be covered by standard home insurance policies. Some policies may let you add it to your policy though at extra cost.

Home insurance for garages that are part of the home

If your garage is part of your home and attached to your house, your home insurance will offer the same level of cover as the rest of the home structure and fixtures (for buildings insurance) and the same level of cover for possessions kept inside your attached garage (contents insurance).

Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance helps to cover the structure and fixtures of your garage against losses caused by:

Fire

Smoke

Theft and attempted theft

Lightning and storm

Flood

Malicious damage

Earthquakes and more

You’ll need to read the policy documents to see the full list of events that are covered as each policy differs. The policy will also list any events that cause damage to your home’s structure where you won’t be able to claim on your buildings insurance.

For example, cosmetic damage to your garage door isn’t likely to be covered by home insurance if it doesn’t affect the functioning of the garage, but structural damage to your garage door will be covered. Wear and tear isn’t likely to be covered either.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance will help to cover the items you keep in your attached garage against the cost of repair and replacement costs caused by:

Fire

Smoke

Theft and attempted theft

Lightning and storm

Flood

Malicious damage

Earthquakes and more

You’ll need to read the policy documents to see the full list of events that are covered as each policy differs. The policy will also list any claims where contents insurance won’t cover the cost.

For example, any items you keep in your garage that cost over £350 – for example, a bike or a drill – are considered ‘high value’ and may not be fully covered unless you’ve named them as a high-value item on the policy.

You’ll need to make sure your contents are locked safely and securely in your garage to help make sure they’re covered.

Standard contents insurance policies won’t tend to cover the cost of your tenants’ contents if they’re kept in the garage – your tenants will need to take out their own contents insurance policy.

If you’re planning on keeping a car in your garage, its value will need to be covered by a car insurance policy rather than contents insurance.

Home insurance for outbuilding garages

Home insurance also offers cover for your outbuilding garage, but the amount you can claim may be less than if your garage was attached to the house.

Buildings insurance

Your buildings insurance policy should offer the same level of cover for your detached garage as your attached ‘part of the home’ garage. But policies can differ by provider, so it’s always a good idea to check the policy wording first.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance will help to cover the items you keep in your detached garage against the cost of repair and replacement costs caused by fire, smoke, theft and attempted theft, lightning and storm, flood, malicious damage, earthquakes and more – just like ‘part of the home’ garage insurance.

But the amount you can claim for your contents may be more limited – for example, a contents insurance policy may let you claim up to £7,500 for items that are stolen from your outbuilding garage, but you might be able to claim up to £10,000 for contents stolen from an attached garage. The amount you can claim for contents that need repairing or replacing because of floods, smoke, malicious damage and other events may also be lower.

You may be able to increase the level of cover for contents kept in your outbuilding garage, so it’s a good idea to read the policy documents before taking out insurance to see whether or not you’d need to add extra protection to the policy.

Accidental damage cover for your garage

Standard buildings insurance and contents insurance policies won’t tend to offer cover for accidental damage – this can be added on as an extra level of cover. It’s a good idea to check the amount of accidental damage cover offered for contents kept in outbuilding garages when you look to take out an additional policy, because the amount you can claim per item may be less than if the item was damaged in the home.

If your home insurance policy offers basic accidental damage cover, this may not protect your outbuilding garage. So it’s important to read the policy documents in full to make sure you know what will and won’t be covered before buying home insurance.

Tips to help make sure your garage is covered

There are steps you can take to help make sure your garage is covered by your home insurance:

Include the items stored in there in your total contents value when you take out the policy

Include the cost of rebuilding your attached or detached garage when taking out buildings insurance, so that could also be rebuilt it need to be

Install security lights and a burglar alarm to help deter thieves

Make sure your garage is locked and secure, because it’ll be difficult to claim for theft if there are no signs of forced entry and the garage was unlocked

Individual items that cost over £350 may need to be added to your insurance separately to help make sure they’re covered – this is the same for items you keep in the main part of your house and the garage

Any high value items like a bike that are damaged or stolen when you take them off your property won’t be covered unless you’ve opted for cover away from home (sometimes called Personal Belongings cover)

Comparing home insurance policies

You can compare home insurance policies using MoneySuperMarket’s home insurance comparison tool. You can add any bikes worth more than £350 that’ll you’ll be keeping in either the main part of your home or your garage to make sure they’re covered. You can also add any other high value items that are worth over £1000 each that you might keep in the house or garage, for example tools or exercise equipment. Make sure the total contents value for your home includes items stored in your garage.

You’ll then be able to add the current market value of your property, and an estimate of how much it’d cost to rebuild your home (including your garage) to help make sure your whole property is covered. You’ll can also add any security features you have – including a burglar alarm – to see how this affects the cost of your home insurance.